Hey guys, you must hear this every week, but I need some advice. I recently started playing tennis and its great. IT is a very good exercise, and is fun too. I bought a (cheap) prince racket but playing with it is impossible: it is too light, and strings on it fly apart after each time i hit the ball, So i m guessing that i m having problems cause of it. Since I hit same way yet ball does not really go the way i want it to, and other times it does.

Anyways I was wondering if some one would recommend me a nice racket for under $75 bux (maybe even used) . I don't particularly need a beginner racket, but I looked up some specs, and this is what they said : Composite or graphite, around 11 ounces, balance ( close to even ) , frame( stiff, to very stiff) , string pattern 16, or 18 mains, head( 95-110) , length 27-27.5

THE WAY I PLAY: I am regular built, 5'10 , around 170 lbs, so far I play like 1-2 x a week for 2-3 hours.
I usually play all over the court, I like to be able to hit the ball hard, although I don't always do it, I need some control too, and some spin once in while, basically I want the all around racket, that I can play near net, away from net, hit hard/slow, have control / spin etc..

If some one has some suggestions I would really appreciate it.
I read somewhere about head Radical OS, and Prince Thundercloud, also wilson hammer 5.3,
so any tips would be helpful,

11 ounce, even balance sounds good. Lighter racquets twist too much and don't have much control or enough power.

I started out (well I was 3.5 already though) with a 10.5 ounce evenly balanced Volkl Q8 (after much demoing 3 years ago) and now as a 4.0 use a 11.5 ounce slightly headlight Volkl T8 after adding some tape to the frame sides. Both are 27.5 inches in length.

You sound like you have done your research. Demo before you buy! Make sure the racquets fits all parts of your game.

well problem is , i dont think i can demo, there are not many places around here that let u test out rackets, and i wanted to order one online to save some $$, but its really hard to do research online w/o really trying racket for your self , I see a lot of costomising going on, and I just dont want to hastle with that, I might do put some lead on head of my Prince Ti racket thats very light, so that at least it would be somewhat playable for other people who will use it to play me just for fun, i guess i ll put the lead in 3 and 9 positions, , it might improve a little, especially with newer /tighter strings, that dont come appart. For now search for a new racket is still going ; ) thanx

You might want to post this also in the racquet section. Lots of players on that side really know their racquets and can help lead you in the right direction. You might get some comments from professional stringers that can provide their two cents.

Choosing a racquet from recommendations on this bulletin board is not the best place to do it. Many players giving advice will give advice according to their own preference which can be completely different then what you need.

bungalo bill ye i did, i accidently posted in here too, sorry about that, thanx a lot guys, I have 2-5 rackets to choose from now, hopefully i ll find something

thanx

There you go, talk to Graham. I would advise for you to consider how short or long your swing is for starters. Since you are growing in tennis, it will be a little difficult to determine how fast you swing.

Or if you really need to know, seek a tennis professional and have him/her watch a couple shots you hit for advise.